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the PAichigan QaiFy Page 18
From the editors:
Thousands of University students
are preparing to graduate in
Michigan Stadium on May 1. In the
four (perhaps more or less) years
they have been at the University, they
have witnessed the installation of a
new University president, the
implementation of the Code of
Student Conduct and the initiation of
lawsuits challenging the admissions
process in both the College of
Literature, Science and the Arts and
the Law School.
In the following pages we have
reprinted these and other articles
that have appeared in The Michigan
Daily during the past four years.
- The Michigan Daily
UN
By Jaimie Winkler
Daily Staff Reporter
University President Lee
Bollinger recommended four
chief to deliver address
Students express excitement
honorary degree recipients to
be approved by the University
Board of Regents at its March
meeting.
The recipients for this
spring's honorary degree Annan
awards include Kofi Annan, the secretary-general
of the United Nations; Aharon Barak, chief justice
of the Supreme Court of Israel; Shirley Malcolm,
director for education and human resources at the
American Association for the Advancement of
Science; and Pramoedya Anata Toer, an
Indonesian author.
Annan is scheduled to deliver the keynote
speech at the 1999 spring commencement ceremo-
ny, pending regents' approval, according to mem-
bers of the University administration. The com-
mencement speaker was officially announced at
the board meeting.
"The commencement speaker is traditionally
someone who receives an honorary degree,"
said University spokesperson Julie Peterson.
Previous spring commencement speakers
include Bollinger, Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Johnetta Cole, the first female president of
Spelman College and Mamphela Ramphele,
vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town,
South Africa.
"I think it's nice to have someone who has an
influence on the world not just our country," LSA
senior Ian Shainbrown said, adding that he is
pleased with the choice for speaker because "it
shows we're a world-class school"
Other students expressed amazement at the
University's ability to attract such a prominent
world leader.
Business senior Brian Kristofic said the
University's extending an invitation to leaders
like Annan to come to the campus is an illustra-
tion of the University's growing concerns
abroad.
"It shows how important international issues are
to the campus," Kristofic said.
Annan, a national of Ghana, has had three
decades of experience with the UN and success-
fully negotiated several diplomatic agreements,
including the release of hostages held in Iraq fol-
lowing its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
A TIME'
FOR R
CHANGE S -
Suits target
admissions
Ups, downs-
mark campus
years at U
By Michael Grass
Daily Staff Reporter
As University seniors count down the days to
graduation, many may reflect on the events that have
shaped their four or more years in Ann Arbor - a
time marked by changes, tragedy and celebration.
The contentious Code of Student Conduct became
a University policy in 1996, amidst protests by various
students groups on campus. During the past few
months, surrounded by criticism from the Michigan
Student Assembly and others, that same code is being
re-evaluated.
Among the most notable events, two lawsuits were
filed against the University last year, threatening the
future of affirmative action policies on campus and
current University President Lee Bollinger become
the 12th person to head the University.
Both banner and less notable events have shaped
many students' experiences at the University.
"The lawsuit against the University, pertaining to its
admissions policy, forced me to think about how this
University, this campus is unique," former MSA
President Trent Thompson said.
LSA senior Iesha Moore said she will always
remember the stabbing death of Tamara Williams by
estranged boyfriend Kevin Nelson in September 1997.
"It was so shocking ... we tend to think of Ann
Arbor as a safe haven and when things like that hap-
pen, they stick out," Moore said.
The incident rocked the community and proved to
many, like Moore, that domestic violence can occur
anywhere.
Last October, LSA first-year student Courtney
Cantor died after falling from her sixth floor Mary
Markley Residence Hall window. Cantor had been
seen drinking at a Phi Delta Theta fraternity party
hours before. Her blood alcohol level was below
Michigan's level of legal intoxication and traces of
gamma hydroxybutyrate, a substance sometimes used
as a date rape drug, was found in her system.
Editor's note: This story originally
ran in the Oct. 15, 1997 edition of The
Michigan Daily. Another lawsuit was
filed in December, targeting the Law
School's admissions policy. The cases
are scheduled to be argued in District
Court next fall.
By Jeffrey Kosseff
Daily Staff Reporter
The law firm that won the precedent-
setting Hopwood affirmative action
case in Texas filed a class-
action lawsuit yesterday
against the University's
undergraduate admissions
policies.
The lawsuit was filed Admis
against the University's t
College of Literature,
Science and Arts, University President
Lee Bollinger and former President
James Duderstadt.
Jennifer Gratz, who was rejected from
the University in 1995, and Patrick
Hamacher, an unsuccessful 1996 appli-
cant, are named as the two plaintiffs in
the suit, which was filed at the federal
District Court in Detroit yesterday. The
lawsuit claims that because the two are
white, they were treated "less favorably
in considering their applications for
admission to the LSA college."
"Race should never be a factor,"
Hamacher said in an interview with
The Michigan Daily.
"I will not deny the fact that we have
used race as a factor," Director of
Undergraduate Admissions Ted Spencer
said yesterday. "We want a variety of stu-
dents representing diverse areas. We've
always felt that race was important."
Hamacher contacted the office of
state Rep. Deborah Whyman (R-
Canton) after he read a newspaper arti-
cle about the University's affirmative
action programs. Whyman, along with
three other state representatives, referred
him and hundreds of other students
interested in filing a lawsuit to the
Center for Individual Rights, a
Washington D.C.-based law firm that is
a leader in fighting affirmative action.
The plaintiffs claim that the
University's admissions policies violate
Si
3ri
the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights
Act of 1964. University admissions stan-
dards allow race to be one of the deciding
factors for admittance, CIR contends.
Hamacher said he was upset that minori-
ties with lower qualifications gained
acceptance to the University. With a GPA
slightly under 3.4 and an ACT score of
28, Hamacher claims he was qualified for
admission to the University.
"I had seen other kids getting in, and
they had much lower credentials than
me," said Hamacher, who
is currently a student at
Michigan State University.
Gratz, who attended
high school in Southgate
ons on and graduated with a
al 3.765 GPA and an ACT
score of 25, said she
hopes the lawsuit will change an admis-
sions system that she believes is flawed.
"I felt like there was a wrongdoing,"
Gratz said. "The policies need to be
changed so nobody has to go through
what I went through."
Terry Pell, a CIR spokesperson, said
the lawsuit against the University has
the potential of setting a precedent sim-
ilar to the Hopwood case.
"The admissions system here is more
egregious than the Hopwood case," Pell
said. Pell said he hopes the suit will
move along in court "expeditiously."
Whyman said she hopes this case
will eliminate any preferential treat-
ment received by minorities.
"This is a big day for us, the people
who are fighting discrimination,"
Whyman said. "We have good plaintiffs
who were selected because they have
outstanding cases. You want to have the
strongest plaintiffs possible for this
type of suit."
Under the case of Bakke vs.
California, which is the 1978 Supreme
Court ruling that set current precedent in
the area of affirmative action, a universi-
ty or college may use race as one of
many factors in admission. CIR's cur-
rent lawsuit, however, claims "race was
one of the predominant factors (along
with scores on standardized admissions
tests and high school grades) used for
determining admission."
Although these incidents were given a high level of
media attention, many students said the lighter mem-
ories bind their class together, including the national
championships in football and hockey last year, which
created an unprecedented sense of school spirit.
"Those were incredible times," said Engineering
senior Joseph Black, adding that "to experience that
on campus was unforgettable."
LSA senior David Caroline said when he looks
back on his experiences at the University in 10 years,
he will always remember "the Michigan spirit" and
"the air on Football Saturdays."
Black also said he remembers celebrating
Michigan's football victory over Penn State on the
front lawn of Bollinger's house and "slowly, but sure-
ly, rushing the field after beating Ohio State."
And the Rose Bowl victory in Pasadena last year,
"wow, there was nothing in my four years here that
will match up to all of that excitement," Black said.
Moore said she will always think of the first time
she witnessed the Naked Mile.
Moore said that as she watched the annual event
marking the last night of classes for the academic
year, she said she thought "wow, there are thousands
of naked people running through the streets and
nobody is doing anything to stop it."
After the run, Moore said she realized "Ann
Arbor is a really weird place." Moore added that she
does not plan to participate in the Naked Mile
before graduating.
For Moore, these larger events are not the only
things that define one's University experience -
there many small moments and simple reminders.
"I remember taking my first blue book and then
stomping on the 'M,"' she said. "I step on it each
time I cross the Diag now."
After contentious presidential
search, regents welcome Bollinger
Acting up
Editor's Note: This story originally
ran in the Feb. 3, 1997 edition of The
Michigan Daily.
By Heather Kamins
and Katie Wang
Daily Staff Reporters
Two years ago, Lee Bollinger took
the road that led him away from Ann
Arbor, but today as he begins his first
day as University president, he finds
that the road once traveled has brought
him back again.
As Bollinger sits in the University's
driver's seat, he finds himself steering
one of the nation's largest research insti-
tutions, a campus that has undergone a
billion-dollar face lift and a student body
that is more diverse than ever.
"I feel a tremendous affection for this
institution," he said in his selection
interview with the Board of Regents
last October. "It's one of the greatest of
"6$ feel a tremendous affection for this
university. It's one of the greatest of
universities ... in thec Counry"
- Lee Bollinger
University President
tion about it."
Bollinger was selected by the regents
from a pool of four applicants after a
yearlong search process.
The blond-haired president, a scholar
of the First Amendment and an avid read-
er whose passions run deep for educa-
tion, said it is "wonderful" to be back.
"Everyday I run into people I've
known, but have not seen for awhile,"
Bollinger said. "It is a very special time
for me. There is so much to learn.
"I have a lot of work to do," he said
yesterday. "But it is immensely exciting."
become the provost of Dartmouth
College in 1994. In addition to reuniting
with old friends, Bollinger will now be
closer to his son, Lee, who is studying in
the Law School. His daughter Carey is
an undergraduate at Harvard, and his
wife Jean, an artist, is scheduled to move
into the president's house this month.
Before joining the University in 1973
as an assistant professor, Bollinger was a
clerk for Warren Berger, former chief jus-
tice of the United States Supreme Court.
"It's going to be a great era,"'said
Regent Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann
WARREN ZINN/Daily
A member of the "Peace Team" protects a Ku Klux Klan member with "White Pride" emblazoned on his chest from the
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